Cary, NC – There is a lot of excitement about the development renaissance taking place in Downtown Cary. Sometimes it overshadows the growth taking place out west where thousands of homes and apartments are being built. This report is all about the real estate boom in Western Cary, or as we affectionately call it, “The Wild West.”

Every time we drive west of NC-55, it seems an entirely new subdivision has popped up since our last visit. Cary’s western side has been growing at a rapid rate ever since the recession ended and in 2019 the pace is picking up with land “For Sale” signs dotting the sides of NC-55 and bulldozers clearing land to make way for shopping, healthcare facilities, apartment complexes and subdivisions.

Here’s just a few developments that we saw this past week under construction. Marked in Green on the Town’s Development map, these are projects that are currently under construction and approved. Anything marked in blue or purple is in review and awaiting either rezonings or other considerations.

The area west of NC-55 know as Western Cary has the most development activity in town

The Brickyard

As you drive up NC-55 toward Durham, a large swath of land has been cleared and the monument sign recently went up for an area that will be known as “The Brickyard.” The development incorporates 99.88 acres of land, which has been clear cut to make way for 246 townhomes and 141 single family housing units. There will be a clubhouse and a pool included.

The first of these townhomes just went up, as well as a new traffic signal that will allow residents to safely enter NC-55, as well as to cross the highway to shop at the Alston Town Center (where Whole Foods is located) across the street.

The Brickyard’s development map

UNC Medical Office Building

Also on NC-55, at the corner of McCrimmon Parkway, a large building started going up about a month ago. This turns out to be a UNC-Panther Creek Medical Office Building, which when finished will be just under 100,000 square feet and include three floors of assorted medical out patient offices.

Areas have been clearcut in Western Cary to make way for construction adjacent to McCrimmon Parkway

Townhomes and Apartments Near Mc Crimmon Parkway

Development is brisk near Alston Town Center, located at NC-55 and McCrimmon Parkway. Another parcel of land was recently cleared on the south side of McCrimmon at the western corner of Highcroft Drive to make way for Channing Park, a 206 townhome community.

As this land was being prepared, another parcel up the road on Highcroft Drive called Alston Village is currently under construction. With 23 separate buildings and a clubhouse, this new development will include 444 multifamily units on 38 acres.

Next door to Alston Village, at the corner of McCrimmon and NC-55, “Hillstone at Alston Town Center” is also under construction and will include 205 multifamily units on 16 acres.

The Aster Community, begun in 2018 is a mix of townhomes, high-rise style and garden apartments and is finishing up development across the street.

You can see more development activity by opening the link and clicking on any green parcels, and then clicking “view.”

More Grocers

Folks in Western Cary now have some choices for their grocery shopping. Once relegated to one Harris Teeter in Cary Park center on Green Level Church Road, in the fall of 2017, Whole Foods opened on NC-55, followed by a new Publix in Amberly, along with an Aldi.

A Lowe’s Grocery Store is planned for Morrisville Parkway in the Greystone subdivision area along with the addition of a gas station and three outparcels.

Single family Subdivisions

It is hard to list everything being built out west, and not everything under construction is townhomes or apartments. Several large subdivisions (including Amberly’s “Peninsula”) are planned or are in the late phases of their construction. These include:

“Amberly,” which is in phases five through eight

“Montvale” with 44 homes

“Amberly Glen” on 70 acres with 138 single family homes and 148 townhomes

“Weldon Ridge” on 62 acres

“Southerlyn” with 56 single-family homes

Wakena Hills with 113 homes on 58 acres

“Ridgefield” with 144 home on 80 acres off of McCrimmon west of 540.

These are just a few of the highlights that we saw under construction on a recent trip out west. If you are curious as to all the activity happening on the western side of town, visit the Town’s interactive map and click on this link. Areas are color-coded and you can see links to actual site plans and other planning documents.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photos by Lindsey Chester and the Town of Cary.

And where’s the road infrastructure to accommodate all this building? Developers only improve the road in front of their development and so we go from 2 lanes to 4 lanes and back to 2 lanes, creating driving havoc.

You can thank the NCGA for that – Cary used to have rules that required developers to at least marginally contribute to the public infrastructure required to put a development in a place. Municipalities are no longer allowed to assess such impact fees.